Slide rest mechanism



Jan. 2, 1940. R. J. FRIDLUND SLIDE REST MECHANISM Filed March so, 1957 IZQVENTOR. v g (fw Patented Jan. 2, 1940 UNITED .s'mrss r T-E'Nr OFFICE i v Reynold John Fridlund, Detroit, Mich.

Application March so, 1937,--'-SerialN0..133,866

3 Claims.

My invention relates to a slide rest mechanism utilized for supporting tools and similar units in lathes, planers, and similar machines, and the objects of my invention are, first, to provide a slide rest mechanism incorporating construction that, will eliminate the conventional ways and V members of. conventional slide rest mechanisms; second, to provide a slide rest mechanism of exceptional economy of design and manu- .facture; third,.to provide a slide rest mechanism having a movably mounted saddle guided in its movement by a cylindrical member utilized as a track member; fourth, to'provide a slide rest mechanism having a saddle provided with a sole shaftmember for retaining the saddle against transverse movement; fifth, to provide a slide rest mechanism having a saddle member slidably supportedv by a cylindrical shaft with means for clamping the cylindrical :shaft below its axis to crowd the saddle downwardly against a support means engaging the lower surface of the saddle; sixth, to provide a slide rest mechanism having an adjustable saddle provided with oppositely disposed extension portions having partial cylindrical surfaces for engaging a cylindrical shaft solely on one side of its axis to permit clamping means for the saddle to provide a wedge operating means for locking the saddle in adjusted positions; seventh, to provide a slide rest mechanism having a support plate that; can be made from standard flat bar or strip material; eighth, to provide a slide rest mechanism having a guide means that can be made from standard cylindrical' bar stock or material; and ninth, to provide a slide rest mechanism having a novel wedge means for securing portions of the slide re'st mechanism together.

I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of the slide rest mechanism; Fig. 2, a sectional view taken along the line indicated at 22, Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a sectional view of the slide rest mechanism taken on the line 3-3, Fig, 2; and Fig. 4, a partial view disclosing an end View of the shaft guide support of the slide rest mechanism and of modified design.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Myinvention utilizes the plate which forms va support for the saddle 2 which is adapted to be slidably moved back and forth on the plate I, the saddle 2 being providedwithaT slot 3 which is constructed with a suitable shape to support a .tool post 4 having,abasenportionjA adapted to track of the slide rest mechanism. The saddle 2 is provided with the recess I2 be adjustablymovedin the enlarged portion 3A of the T slot 3.

The tool post 4 is provided with asuitable opening 6 for receiving thellOOl l therethrough and which is fixedlyclamped in place by the setscrew 8, the tool "I being provided with the desired nose or cutting portion 9.

In conventional sliderest mechanisms the saddle? is mountedon four conventional ways or V members to facilitate its being guided in an'adjustable'movement to and'fromthe work-which is being machined and the use of said conven tional waysor vsupport portions for a slidable In my invention I supportthe saddle 2 directly onthe plate I which isconstructed of conventional .flat stock, the saddle 2 being retained extending onopposite sides of the saddle 2 and providingv the land or-bearing surfaces [3 at the sides of the saddle 2 and theplate l, 'thusproviding a balancedrengage'ment of the saddle '2 s with the upper surface IA of the plate l.

.The'recess l2, by its formation, removes or cuts away a'portion of the bore M at its lower side which, together with the semi-cylindrical bore or clearance chamber or space l5 atthe upper side of the shaft 5, provides oppositely dis:

posed extension portions [6 therebetween, said extension; portions l6 beingprovided with the partial" cylindrical surfaces MA of the original .bore and which-are utilized for contacting and forming a bearing for the shaft 5.

Thesemi-cylindrical bore or clearance chamber orispace I5 is formed with a slightly larger radius than the bore I l and extends to. points,

at its lower side, located in a plane extending substantially horizontal and through the axis of .the shaft 1 5.

member entails considerable manufaoturing\ Icosts aswell as special materials for such units.

hole I8 extending within or through the saddle 2 at one side of and slightly above the shaft 5, the screw I'I, together with the shaft 5, being supported at their outer or front ends in the block I9 which is suitably secured to the upper surface IA of the plate I by screws or similar fastening means which are not disclosed, the shaft 5 being suitably connected to said block I9 and to the plate I to fixedly retain and anchor said shaft 10 5 against longitudinal and turning movements, the shaft 5 being connected to said block I9 as by a press fit or by the screw ISA or similar suitable means.

The screw I1 is provided with a bushing or sleeve which is provided with a plurality of measuring indicia or symbols 2I which are adapted to be aligned with or referred to the line or mark 22 on the front surface of the block I9 which thus will enable the operator to determine 20 the amount of movement of the sleeve or bushing 2! together with the screw I? and the saddle 2 with its supported tool means to and from the work which is being machined or operated upon and in which operation my invention is used.

2 The screw I! is provided with a ball end 23 through which extends the shaft 24 to provide lever arms or cranks having oppositely disposed ball ends 25, one of which is provided with the handle 26 to facilitate operation of the screw I1 30 by the operator.

After the saddle 2 has been adjusted to its desired position in which the tool "I is properly positioned in its cutting or machining operation,

- the screws 21 are adapted to be tightened, which inturn will actuate and force the pins or shafts 28, which have a slidable support in the bores 29 and extend through suitable bores in the extension portions I6 so that their inner ends will engage a cylindrical surface of the shaft 5 at points slightly below a horizontal plane extending through the axis of the shaft 5, said pins or shafts 28 extending substantially parallel with one another and transversely to said shaft 5, the pins or shafts 28 being provided with a partial cylindrical surface at their inner ends to facilitate engagement with the cylindrical surface of the shaft 5, and the axis of the pins or shafts 28 being located below the axis of the shaft 5, the forcing of the pins or shafts 28 by the screws 21 into the tight engagement with the cylindrical surface of the shaft 5' will act as wedge means and tend to force the saddle 2 downwardly toward a tighter engagement between the lands or bearing surfaces I3 and the surface IA of the plate I to fixedly secure and lock the saddle in any desired position on the plate I and on the shaft 5.

If desired, the shaft 5 may be constructed with a flat surface 38 at its lower side, as disclosed in Fig. 4, for providing a greater area of contact for engagement between the shaft 5 and the upper surface IA of the plate I. However, the flat surface 30 entails additional machining operation on the shaft and is not necessary, al-

though it may be desired for use in special instances where extreme accuracy and rigidity is desired with the maximum economy in manufacture.

It is to be noted that the use of the shaft. 5 as .70 a means for guiding the saddle 2 in its movements to and fro on the plate I and to accomplishrigid positioning of, the saddle 2 against movement transversely, provides a very economical slide rest mechanism which not only eliminates the .15expensive provision of conventional ways or V members together with gibs, etc., adapted for supporting a conventional slide rest mechanism but also provides an exceedingly economical bar stock without the necessity of further fine or excessively accurate machining operations there- Also the saddle 2 may be readily machined to provide the semi-cylindrical chamber I5 at the upper side of the shaft 5 by end mill or similar machining operations.

The semi-cylindrical chamber I5 is preferably provided so that when the pins or shafts 28 are utilized for tightly engaging the shaft 5 to force the saddle 2 against the plate I there will be sufficient clearance on the upper side of the shaft 5 and extending around its sides to a plane 'extending horizontally through its axis to the end that there will be no interference of that portion of the saddle 2 with the shaft 5 as the saddle 2 is thus forced down onto a locked or fixed posi-- tion on the surface IA of the plate I.

Also it is to be noted that the plate I and the shaft 5 may be readily constructed with a minimum 0f machining operations thereof as they may be cut or machined to lengths from finished rolled steel or similar material of bar and plate sections which are available in conventional form and in standard sizes on the market. Thus the important parts of my slide rest mechanism are inherently constructed to render them readilyv interchangeable so that if said parts become worn beyond adjustment or damaged in any way they can be readily rep-laced at a very low price, eliminating expensive remachining which is necessary on other type of conventional slide rest mechanisms.

Thus my invention will, byits simplicity and low cost, provide a slide rest mechanism which is adaptable for quantity production which will render it available for low priced mechanical machines and units utilizing slide rest mechanisms.

In operation, the tool 1 is mounted in the tool post 4 and is clamped therein by the set screw 8 in any desired position relative to the T slot 3 and with the nose or cutting portion 9 of the tool I properly positioned for a desired machining operation on work suitably supported adja cent my slide rest mechanism, the operator then grasping the handle 25 and by rotating the screw H, the saddle 2 is moved, to and from the work,

on the shaft 5 and on the plate I, the semi-cylindrical bearing areas MA engaging a cylindrical portion of the outside surface of the shaft 5, the saddleZ engaging the edge surfaces of the plate I by means of the lands or'bearing surfaces I3. Thus the saddle 2 is maintained in rigid alignment on the shaft 5 as it is moved back and forth on the plate I, and after the saddle has been adjusted to its desired position in which the tool I will be properly positioned for its machining operation, the operator tightens the screws 21 which force the pins or shafts 28 to engage the shaft 5 with its points of contact with the shaft 5 below the axis of the shaft 5, thus drawing the saddle 2 down against the plate I to lock it securely in any desired adjusted position.

I claim:

1. In a slide rest mechanism, the combina-- ment, and a wedge means carried by said saddle and engaging said cylindrical shaft to retainsaid saddle member on said cylindrical, shaft and to force said saddle member to tightly engage said plate member.

2. In a slide rest mechanism, the combination of a plate member, a saddle member having a pair of oppositely disposed land portions movably supporting said plate member and separated by a recess therebetween, said saddle member be-. ing provided with a bore having a portion of itself adjacent said plate member removed by the formation of said recess, said bore being provided with a semi-cylindrical clearance chamber at its upper side, the remaining cylindrical surfaces of said bore being located in oppositely disposed positions between the axis of said bore and said recess, a shaft secured to said plate member and extending within and engaging said remaining cylindrical surfaces of said bore for guiding said saddle member in its movement, and wedge means mounted in said saddle member and engaging said shaft adjacent said remaining cylindrical surfaces of said bore for securing said saddle member to said shaft and to force said saddle member to more tightly engage said plate member.

3. In a slide rest mechanism, the combination of a support member, a saddle member movably supported by said support member, a shaft provided with a flattened surface at one of its sides for engaging said support member, said shaft engaging said saddle member to guide it in its movement, screw members mounted in said support member and extending through said flattened surface to threadably engage said shaft tosecure said shaft to said support member, and wedge means mounted in said saddle member and engaging said shaft at one side of its axis to secure said saddle member in said shaft and force said saddle member to more tightly'engage said support member.

REYNOLD JOHN FRIDLUND. 

